Earlier this month, Dr Hilary Cass submitted an interim report to NHS England which covered their work to date. The report detailed the information gathered from stakeholders, including clinicians, charities, gender-distressed young people, detransitioners and parents. The report outlines what they envisage the gender identity services for young people should look like, and what steps the NHS should be taking to achieve this vision. There were many welcome messages from the report and confirmation that the concerns of Bayswater parents had been heard.
Of particular interest was the attention drawn by the report to the role of schools in trans-identified youth. Dr Cass mentioned schools in several areas of the report and stated that educational establishments would have a greater focus placed on them as the review progresses.
A few of the key points were:
- Social transition is not a neutral act, but an active intervention
- There are concerns over the impact social transition may have on the subsequent developmental pathway for a child or adolescent with gender distress
- Co-morbidities must be given greater consideration
- The role of schools will be subject to greater scrutiny by the Cass Review
We have reviewed the statements made in the report about the role of educators and have drawn them together in this booklet which could prove useful to parents who may wish to provide copies to local schools.
